Clean water requires collective effort

OUR VIEW

Sunday

Mar 23, 2014 at 12:01 AM

It's a good sign that the debate isn't about whether or not the county and municipalities should take steps to address water-quality issues, only what the most prudent options are.That's because the evidence is overwhelming that one of the area's most precious natural resources is in trouble.

Because water follows the path of least resistance, it's imperative that state and local governments not impede efforts to improve the quality of the Indian River Lagoon system and area springs.It was therefore encouraging last week to see elected officials from three Southeast Volusia cities — Edgewater, New Smyrna Beach and Oak Hill — publicly meet to express support for the importance of the waterways they share.In addition, the Volusia County Council will meet April 3 to consider adopting an ordinance that would regulate fertilizer use. The purpose of the ordinance would be to protect the quality of the community's groundwater and waterways, such as Mosquito Lagoon, St. Johns River and four springs: Blue, Gemini, Green and DeLeon. Studies have shown excessive amounts of nitrogen and phosphate found in fertilizers can have harmful impacts on such resources.The council almost certainly will approve some measure aimed at helping the waters. The only question is how far the ordinance will go.It's a good sign that the debate isn't about whether or not the county and municipalities should take steps to address water-quality issues, only what the most prudent options are.That's because the evidence is overwhelming that one of the area's most precious natural resources is in trouble.As the News-Journal detailed in its five-part series “Troubled Water” in December, the Indian River Lagoon in recent years has experienced several outbreaks of heavy toxic algal blooms, the loss of 47,000 acres of sea grass and the unexplained deaths of hundreds of dolphins, manatees and pelicans.Fertilizer runoff is just one contributing factor. Storm water, wastewater and septic tanks also are to blame. And some of the problems could have natural causes.People say talk is cheap, but the first step is committing to finding a solution rather than acting like an ostrich and denying there is even a problem. New Smyrna Beach Mayor Adam Barringer thus nailed it when, following the meeting of municipalities last Tuesday, he told the News-Journal's Dinah Voyles Pulver: “We need to set the standard for stewardship of our lagoon for the state. The health of our communities is tied to the lagoon.” Those words need to be followed with action.The county will have to decide how far to go with the fertilizer ordinance. Some council members favor adopting standards set by the state in 2010, which include recommending 10-foot fertilizer-free buffers and 10-foot natural landscape buffers around all waterways.Others favor stricter regulations, perhaps something similar to those recently adopted by neighboring Brevard County. Its new ordinance bans the use of certain fertilizers on landscape plants and turf grass between June 1 and Sept. 30, expands the fertilizer-free zone along waterways to 15 feet, stipulates that only no-phosphate fertilizer can be applied to turf or landscape plants without a soils deficiency test and eliminates an exemption for golf courses, parks and athletic fields.Councilman Josh Wagner has said he favors something between those two approaches.Perhaps the biggest obstacle to a fertilizer ordinance is enforcement. It might be easier to monitor large, commercial lands, but how far can or should the county go toward ensuring that every private homeowner properly applies the correct materials? Septic tanks could prove to be an even bigger challenge, given the costs of inspecting, repairing and replacing them. State legislation passed in 2010 to regulate septic tanks proved highly controversial.Experts agree the problems have been years in the making, and solving them won't happen overnight. If each government along the lagoon does one thing to address the issues, though, it likely would collectively improve the situation.

Never miss a story

Choose the plan that's right for you.
Digital access or digital and print delivery.